


The Can Opener

by AmTheDreamer



Category: Suits (US TV)
Genre: Gen, The Can Opener (Suits), Thumbtacks, darvey if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:28:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25488508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmTheDreamer/pseuds/AmTheDreamer
Summary: She finds him already holding a box of thumbtacks and their can opener. She smirks.
Kudos: 5





	The Can Opener

She finds him already stood in his bathroom, staring at the cork notice board stuck to the wall like a sore thumb, holding a box of thumbtacks – at least two dozen of those – and their can opener. She smirks, then readjusts her dress and stretched her fingers.

“I see we’re going for the long one,” she says. Her voice is low, and if he mentions anything about her trying to seduce him, she is sure to deny it.

“We have time,” he shrugs. His hands are already on the notice board, holding the can opener up. “Are you going to help me?”

She smiles at him and picks up a couple of thumbtacks. As he holds the can opener to the board, she starts securing the thumbtacks around it. One by one, until they are all pinned to the board, surrounding the can opener in a way that holds it up and steady against the notice board. When she is finally done, he lets go, making sure it holds its position. Then he looks back at her with a Cheshire cat grin.

“You go first,” he says.

She pretends to think for a couple of seconds. They have been doing this long enough for both of them to know exactly where to start for it to last longer. She picks a red thumbtack, and pulls at it, freeing it from the cork. The can opener does not budge, so she smiles, and puts the thumbtack back in the now empty box.

“I’m not sure I’m gonna win this one,” Harvey says as he pulls a green thumbtack and throws it in the box.

“You do your best,” she says and stops for a second to smile at him. It hasn’t started like that. They used to pull thumbtacks until it was done. But this ritual has become more. A way for Harvey to empty his mind, to be more focused.

“Yeah, I guess,” he says. He smiles as she pulls a white one, throwing it into the box. “Not sure why it worries me so much. But yeah, I guess I will”.

He pulls on a green thumbtack, and for a second, she thinks it’s done. But it isn’t. So, they both take s deep breath, and she steadies her hand before she goes to pull on a blue one. “You know,” she says, “you can do it. You just have to trust yourself”.

“It’s a good thing someone believes in me,” he smiles at her. Their eyes meet, and they look at each other for a moment too long, before they both turn back to the notice board.

They go on in silence, pulling at the thumbtacks until there are five left, holding the can opener in at five strategic points. It’s his turn, and Donna knows that the next thumbtack will be the last one. But there is no place for losses on his side this time, so she smiles at him and catches his hand mid-air.

“You can do it,” she says and pulls at the white thumbtack on the leftmost corner. And just like that, the can-opener isn’t safe in its place anymore, falling to the floor.

Harvey catches it a nanosecond before it hits the bathroom floor, then straightens up and looks at her. She gives him a fierce look and fixes his tie. Her fingers travel up to fix his hair, and once she’s done, she finds his hands and squeezes, grabbing at the can opener.

“Go get ‘em,” she whispers and leaves the bathroom.


End file.
